


If Neo Chose Differently...

by MDST3559014



Category: The Matrix (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe, Dialogue-Only, Ficlet, Gen, Therapy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:07:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22809142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MDST3559014/pseuds/MDST3559014
Summary: This time Neo takes the blue pill instead of the red. He never learns of the Matrix and is plagued by a vague memory of the pills for 20 years when he finally decides to consult a counselor, but the counselor seems eerily familiar….
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	If Neo Chose Differently...

“Have you ever seen a counselor before?” 

“No I haven’t.”

“So what brings you here today Mr. Anderson?” 

“You can just call me Thomas.”

“Okay. Thomas.”

“Well, I know this might sound crazy, but I had a dream.” 

“Dreams are nothing out of the ordinary, no matter how extraordinary they may seem. Let’s see if we can help you understand it and where it might be coming from. So, what happened in this dream?”

“Okay. Well, I am in a dark room with a man. How I get there is a part of the dream I’ve never remembered. I can vaguely picture a woman with short black hair; I’m not sure who she is or what she does, but I know she exists somewhere in my dream. So, I sit in the chair facing that of the man’s in this dark room. Actually the chairs looked almost identical to the ones we are sitting in now, weird. Anyways, I can’t picture him though. His face is just fuzzy. I don’t know who he is, I wish I did. So, he tells me, after I sit, that he will reveal to me all that I have been searching for, he will provide me with only the truth and nothing more. The truth about what, I don’t know. The man warns me that if he reveals the truth, the protection from ignorance will be gone and would never return. He pulls out a small metal container that holds two pills, a red and a blue. He tells me that taking the red pill will show me the truth and that the blue one will have me wake up in my bed believing whatever I want to believe. I pick up the water glass on the small table in between our chairs. The man holds out the pills, one in each hand. I’m scared. I take the blue pill. Once I took the blue pill in this dream, I jolted awake in my bed covered in sweat and completely disoriented. It felt so real, so vivid, and yet so unclear.”

“Thank you for sharing that with me. Let’s take it bit by bit and see what we can figure out. When did you say you had this dream?”

“I didn’t say, but I had it twenty years ago back when I was a computer programmer.”

“Okay, so this has been bothering you for awhile now, huh?”

“Yes, yes it has. Deep down something tells me that it wasn’t a dream, that it was real, and I woke up in my bed that day because of that blue pill.”

“Did anything else strange or unsettling happen before or after this dream?”

“I can’t really remember anything before the dream, but afterwards some things did. These strange people kept coming to my apartment asking for Neo and looking for hacking software. I have no idea what or who these people were talking about. Each time I turned them away and they also seemed confused. Eventually, the people stopped coming. It was like an extreme case of a wrong phone number.”

“But the people have stopped coming?”

“Yes.”

“And life returned back to normal?”

“Well, yeah, I guess.”

“We are going to have to take some time to work through this. You have to let it all go Thomas: fear, doubt, and disbelief. Free your mind. Unfortunately our time is out for today’s session. We should set up an appointment for next week. Are you available at the same time next week?”

“Umm yeah, I should be able to come then.”

“Sounds good. I will see you then.”

“Okay, thanks. By the way, neat glasses. I have been wondering this whole time how you get them to stay on like that with no temple or ear pieces?”  
  
“Oh, these? I learned this nifty little trick back when I was young. Well, I’ll see you next week Thomas, goodbye for now. ”


End file.
